


Beneath the stars

by Everydayishark



Series: Sharks Shine Forever [1]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Road Trips, kihyuk rise, mandatory Shine Forever angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 13:05:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11253546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everydayishark/pseuds/Everydayishark
Summary: The air is heavy with rain and memories. He looks up when the first drop falls. He holds out his hand, but it doesn’t get wet. He hears the sound of laughter coming from far away, or maybe it’s only inside his head, he doesn’t know.





	Beneath the stars

Kihyun absentmindedly drags his fingers across the backseat. Dust is gathering on the seats—they haven’t used the van, not since then. His fingers ought to leave tracks, but the soot and dust remains untouched. He steps outside.

The air is heavy with rain and memories. He looks up when the first drop falls. He holds out his hand, but it doesn’t get wet. He hears the sound of laughter coming from far away, or maybe it’s only inside his head, he doesn’t know. This van was filled with laughter, once.

It was filled with friends, all seven of them, cruising with the windows down as they drove wherever. Kihyun had always been the one who planned the road trips, meticulously, down to the details—Minhyuk was usually the one who led them off course. (Kihyun would never admit it, but he loved that about Minhyuk.)

They’d get lost for hours, eventually having to camp outdoors somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Kihyun would complain, about getting lost and having paid for a nice cabin somewhere, about having to sleep outside without sleeping bags. Minhyuk would laugh at it all, because Kihyun always complained about everything at first. Changkyun would usually be the one to calm him down.

Eventually, when they were all huddled up together on a makeshift bed of shirts and sweaters, looking up at the stars, Kihyun would smile and look at Minhyuk beside him, radiant in the light of the stars, and they would share a moment that was just between them.

Kihyun misses those days. Kihyun misses those days where Minhyuk shone like the stars. He misses his smile, the sparkle in his eyes. He was his everything, once. He supposes he still is.

Kihyun leans against the car door, closing his eyes. Sometimes he thinks he can still smell it—the leather car seats, the faint smell of sweat and deodorant, the smell of the sea that drifted in when the windows were down. (and something else, something singed and sharp and horrible)

He tastes the salt on his tongue (and something else, something metallic, something dark and wrong and bitter), the taste of lukewarm beer and skinned potatoes heated in the campfire. And in stolen moments, when the rest of them were sleeping, or simply when they didn’t care who saw, the taste of Minhyuk’s lips, slightly sweet and soft and warm.

Somewhere in the glove department, between the dust and the spider webs and the mold that spread once the water got in, were the keys to their shared apartment.

Kihyun imagined he must have sold it by now, but knowing it’s still there gives him peace, somehow. It’s the last thing that reminds him of Minhyuk, the last thing besides this rusting heap of metal, of course.

He still sees them, sometimes. Once in a while they come by to visit. Some more frequent than others. Some stay longer. Some talk to him. Some stay quiet. Kihyun is happy for the company, either way.

Minhyuk comes by most often. Out of guilt, mostly. Minhyuk is no longer the Minhyuk he once knew. This Minhyuk is sad and lonely. This Minhyuk carries the weight of the world.

 The guilt has weighed him down. It has carved out his smile and extinguished his glow. Kihyun wants to tell him it’s okay. It’s not his fault. It never was. They sit side by side in silence. Sometimes Kihyun thinks Minhyuk knows, because his smile returns, and for a moment he sees _his_ Minhyuk again.

But eventually he, too, moves on. The visits grow less frequent. The wounds become scars, and the scars become memories, until they, too, are forgotten.

Kihyun lays on top of the van. The parts of the roof that haven’t caved in yet are covered in vines and weeds. He closes his eyes. He’s tired. He’s been tired for a long, long time. The stars shine bright above him.

He feels Minhyuk cuddle up against him.

“Mmm, Minhyuk, not when the others are here.” He complains.

“It’s okay. It’s just us now.”

Minhyuk takes his hand.

When he opens his eyes, the stars are gone.

The world is white.

**Author's Note:**

> #MandatoryShineForeverAngst  
> #KihyukRise2k17
> 
> Whops there we go.


End file.
